It will be the Pacers.
While the Hawks and Bobcats were playing a meaningless regular-season game in Atlanta, the Pacers clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference without taking to the court. The Hawks and Pacers will meet in the first round of the playoffs, a rematch of last season’s postseason series.
The Hawks had already clinched the eighth seed. The Wizards drubbed the Heat, who played at the Wizards without LeBron James and Chris Bosh, to secure the top spot.
For the record, the Bobcats defeated the Hawks 95-93 Monday night at Philips Arena. Chris Douglas-Roberts scored a scrambling basket at the final buzzer for the comeback victory. The Hawks rested starters Paul Millsap, DeMarre Carroll and Kyle Korver and had nine available players against a full contingent of Bobcats. The Hawks also sat Jeff Teague and Pero Antic for the entire fourth quarter.
“When you are in our situation health and those things are a priority,” coach Mike Budenholzer said of resting Teague and Antic. “… It’s an opportunity to get them a little rest. It’s an opportunity for guys to get reps on defense and offense and all the different things we do. It was just a lot of positives for giving other guys opportunities and allowing Jeff and Pero to play and play without being injured.”
The Hawks (37-44) had a three-game win streak snapped and lost for the second time in the past seven games. The loss ended an 11-game win streak over the Bobcats, who rested four starters for the entire fourth quarter.
Mike Scott led the Hawks with 20 points. Shelvin Mack (13 points), Lou Williams (13), Elton Brand (12), Teague (11) and Cartier Martin (10) all finished in double-figures.
Douglas-Roberts scrambled for the game-winning basket at the final buzzer on an inbounds play with 2.6 seconds left.
The Bobcats erased a 15-point deficit with a 26-6 run to start the fourth quarter. They led by five points, 91-86, until Mack scored five straight points to tie the game with 1:17 remaining. Al Jefferson hit a jump hook with a minute remaining to give the Bobcats a 93-91 lead. Williams drained a jumper with 2.6 seconds remaining to tie the score before the game-winner.
The Bobcats outscored the Hawks 30-13 in the final period. Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour each had 10 fourth-quarter points in the comeback.
“Every game you lose is a downer but it’s not as big of a deal if we weren’t going to the playoffs,” Brand said. “A lot of guys got some rest and a lot of guys got some minutes and experience. A win would have been a positive but we can learn from it.”
The Bobcats (42-39), the seventh seed, won for the seventh time in the past eight games.
Jefferson led the Bobcats with a double-double of a game-high 27 points and 15 rebounds.
The Hawks led 80-65 after three quarters as Brand scored nine points in the period.
The Hawks started slowly and trailed by nine points, 15-6, early in the game. The Hawks started a rally and cut the margin to a point by the end of the first quarter. A Scott basket with 7:07 left in the second quarter gave the Hawks a 37-36 lead. The led by as many as eight points in the period and took a 50-44 lead into the intermission.
Hawks play their final regular-season game Wednesday at the Bucks before opening the playoffs this weekend in Indianapolis.
“We look forward to it,” Williams said of the postseason. “In the playoffs, anybody can beat anybody. I’m sure after Milwaukee we’ll start preparing for that series. We’ve played well against those guys this year and we look forward to the challenge.”
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